1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of identification and authentication. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and devices for identification, quantification, and authentication of one or more materials, especially those containing one or more covert or latent markers.
2. Background
Identification and authentication of solid, liquid and gaseous materials may use many techniques, including the use of overt or covert features or additives, such as colorants and dyes, e.g., tracers or markers. The overt or covert features or additives are typically used to identify, detect, authenticate, and distinguish a product or manufacturer's material from others and to prevent misuse, adulteration, counterfeiting, and/or imitations of the material. While overt additives or features are readily identifiable, covert additives and features are not. In many cases, covert additives or features require that the additive or feature be isolated from the material in order to better identify, quantify, and/or authenticate.
Conventional techniques for isolating and identifying an additive or feature from a material often require highly trained personnel to perform a series of complicated steps using a number of different laboratory tools and/or machines. The steps may include, without limitation, processing, extraction, separation, identification, and quantification, where each step typically requires its own set of machines and tools, and subsequently, its own set of errors and waste products.
For example, costly laboratory studies based on X-ray fluorescence or GC Mass spectroscopy generally provide highly accurate results but with considerable cost and delay. One proposed field testing technology is based on antibodies used to identify markers. This technique has a benefit of sensitivity and selectivity of the antibodies to a specific marker. The antibody method, however, can be expensive, and the system requires manual handling of the sample by highly trained personnel.
Among other limitations, current technologies limit rapid identification and quantification of a covert additive or feature. In addition, many of the machines and tools are bulky and not available outside of a laboratory setting, making it difficult to perform any type of identification, quantification, or authentication in situ. Further, there is an increased risk of handling and contamination and the burden of additive waste products. Some existing methods for separating immiscible liquids, e.g., oil and water, often rely on gravity and are generally time consuming and suffer from cross-contamination, particularly if the liquids are in an emulsion. Others rely on use of a centrifuge to separate immiscible liquids. As such, current practice for the identification and authentication of one or more covert markers in a material may be time consuming, error-prone, and expensive.